For the first time in history there is a three-way tie for the Ivy League women's basketball championship, forcing this weekend's three-way playoff between Brown, Dartmouth and Princeton, to determine which team will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bears, led by Ivy League Player of the Year Sarah Hayes, will face Dartmouth on Friday at 7 p.m. at Yale's John Lee Amphitheater. The winner will advance on to play Princeton for rights to the league's NCAA automatic bid on Sunday at 2 p.m., again at Yale. A fan bus will be leaving from the OMAC Building on Friday at 4 p.m.. The first 55 fans will be able to ride the bus to New Haven, free of charge.

Brown was the first team to capture its share of the Ivy crown with its 70-62 win at Penn last Saturday while the Tigers and Big Green earned their shares on Tuesday night.

Brown closed out the season 18-9 overall, matching its record last season. The Bears dropped a 73-51 decision at Dartmouth on Jan. 27 but rebounded with a 59-54 overtime victory in Providence. Brown also downed Princeton at the Pizzitola Center, 49-47, on Feb. 4 but fell 72-55 to the Tigers on Friday night in Princeton, NJ.

The last time the Bears took part in an Ivy League playoff was back in 1994 when they shared their fifth title in school history with Dartmouth. Brown defeated the Big Green in overtime to become the first Ivy League school to appear in the NCAA Tournament.

All three teams finished 12-2 in Ivy play, splitting against each other. Brown has won a total of six Ivy Titles in its 27 year history. The Big Green have won a record 15 titles, including last year's with Harvard. Princeton has captured three Ivy championships, its last coming in 1999 with Dartmouth.